Don't Even Think About It
by White Belt Writer
Summary: Emma finds herself at the wrong end of a spell, and is far from happy with the result. Her family, on the other hand, thinks it's hilarious. Rated T for language and references to Saw, but nothing explicit. NO LONGER A ONE-SHOT!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Shout out to snoopykid for unintentionally inspiring this one shot with their story, "17 Again".**

**Please R&R**

* * *

"Don't. Say. A. Word."

Emma was mad-

No, scratch that.

Pissed?

No, that wasn't it either…

'Furious', maybe? No, not quite. There was _definitely_ a specific word for what she was feeling.

She rubbed at her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Of all the stupid, moronic, idiotic-

Livid!

That was the word!

She was livid!

And to make matters worse, it appeared her mother was trying her hardest not laugh at her situation.

"Snow, I_ swear_ if you so much as _giggle_, you will regret it!" the blonde said as she glared as hard as she could at the brunette, who seemed like she only wanted to smile even harder.

'_This sucks,'_ Emma thought dejectedly.

* * *

Snow _literally_ had to bite her cheek to keep from laughing out loud at her daughter's predicament. She knew it was bad for her to do so, and she felt guilty about it to be sure, but she couldn't help it!

Never before had Emma looked quite so… _adorable_ before.

"What," the brunette squeaked before clearing her throat and starting again, "What exactly happened?"

Emma continued to glare at her mother from her seat at the counter.

"Belle," she grounded out. "Belle _'happened'_."

"How so?" Snow managed to get out, biting her lips hard enough to almost draw blood.

The blonde seemed to shake barely bridled rage.

"_Belle_," she growled the name, "Got it into her _pretty little head_, that a good way to better understand Gold would be to practice magic _herself_."

"Oh no," the brunette groaned, partly from knowing that that couldn't end well-

And partly because it hurt to restrain herself from laughing.

Still, despite her best efforts, a small snort escaped her, causing the blonde's glare to intensify.

"It's not funny!" she nearly bellowed before explaining.

"I was walking by the library while she was practicing and got hit by a stray spell! And wound up like this!" she pointed to herself so indignantly, that Snow lost it, and nearly dropped to the floor, she was laughing so hard.

She felt really, _really_, bad about her laughter; she really did.

But how else was she supposed to react to the fact that her _twenty-eight_ year old daughter had been transformed into a six-year-old version of herself?

Said six-year-old was currently perched on one of their stools and was glaring daggers at her mother who had to use the nearby support beam to keep from falling over.

It really was a sight to behold, honestly; a six-year-old glaring with her arms crossed while wearing a red leather jacket like she was a total badass. Through her laughter, Snow was subconsciously grateful that the spell had shrunk her daughter's clothes along with her.

If this was how mad Emma was now, she'd hate to see what she would be like if she was forced to come home naked.

Or worse, at least in the blonde's opinion, if she had to come home in frilly, little kid clothes.

At the thought of Emma in a pink dress, Snow was torn between _'aw-ing'_ at the image, and laughing again.

She settled with both.

"STOP LAUGHING!" Emma yelled, nearly in tears. How dare her mother think this was in _anyway_ amusing?

Seeing how upset the adult-turned-child really was, Snow choked down the rest of laughter and tried to be serious.

"Ahem, sor-sorry sweetie," she said, only giggling slightly, "Did, uh, did Belle try to fix…this?" she waved her hand over her daughter, not able to bring herself to say it without laughing.

Emma huffed. "She tried. Even had Gold take a look at me, _'free of charge'_," she sneered, "But he said that due to the _'nature of the spell'_, I'm going to have to wait for it to wear off on it's own."

"Did he say how long?" Snow asked, successfully stopping her giggles this time.

"He said it could be anywhere from a few hours to a few days," the blonde all but moaned, clearly _not _thrilled at the prospect of remaining three and a half feet tall for any length of time; she'd been rather short before she'd gotten her growth spurt at twelve.

Snow sighed in relief. "So it is temporary then?"

Emma nodded.

"That's good," and the brunette meant it. As happy as she was at the chance of seeing what Emma looked like as a child, she knew she would miss seeing her daughter in her natural state _and_ knew that Emma hated this.

Suddenly the blonde's head shot up.

"Where's Henry?" she asked.

"He and James went down to the stables today; something about his pony letting him ride him, I think… why?"

Emma looked down at the ground.

"I don't want him to see me like this," she mumbled, "It's embarrassing and he'll laugh."

Snow felt even guiltier at her early laughter, and moved to crouch before Emma, gently lifting her chin to meet her gaze.

"Oh, sweetie," she said, "I'll admit that, yes, he probably will laugh, and James will most likely join him, but they won't do it to be mean."

"Yes they will," her willful daughter grumbled.

"No," Snow gently reprimanded, "They'll do it because it's funny to see a six-year-old with such a serious look on her face and looking like she just bit into a lemon." She bit her cheek to keep from laughing again before continuing, "And if this was happening to someone else, I think you'd be laughter too. If you don't believe me, I'm sure we can find a few examples on YouTube."

At that, her daughter couldn't help but smile, just a little.

"See, its not so bad," the brunette said, mussing up the blonde's wavy hair on impulse: much to her daughter's chagrin.

She placed her hands on her near and stood up.

"Now," she addressed her daughter, "How's about I whip us up a couple of hot chocolates?"

Emma beamed, "With cinnamon?"

"Of course!" Snow retorted as she began gathering her ingredients.

"And a shot of scotch?"

"Not a chance, missy."

* * *

Henry and James soon returned from the stables, and like both women had predicted, after making sure she was okay, both boys busted out laughing at Emma's predicament. But they soon stopped and began to talk over what to do with the blonde in the meantime.

Going to work in her… _condition_ was out of the question, so it was decided that until the spell wore off Emma would remain at the apartment.

The blonde was fine with this arrangement; she didn't want any more people than necessary knowing about her situation.

What she was _not_ fine with was the decision that Snow would take time off from school to take care of her.

"I might have the body of a six-year-old, but I'm still twenty-eight!" she cried indignantly, "I can take care of myself!"

Snow did her best to hide how much that statement hurt her, and instead said, "Oh? So you can reach the stove-top? The pantry? How 'bout the sink?"

Emma glared at her mother, but with no real argument, she had to settle with crossing her arms and leaning back against her chair in a huff.

"I wonder if the spell is be making Mom more childish," Henry wondered aloud.

"No sweetie," the brunette quipped, "She's always like that; it's just easier to see now."

"Ha ha ha, you're hilarious," Emma said with a deadpan voice and expression.

Still, despite her vehement protests, the decision for Snow to stay home with her tomorrow remained final.

'_So now Snow gets to spend the day fawning over the child she has always wanted,' _Emma thought dryly.

'_Joy.'_

* * *

The night passed quickly and before the blonde knew it, it was the next day and James and Henry were off to the stables before work and school respectively.

Emma had expected Snow to be all over her the second the door closed, but to her surprise the brunette simply finished cleaning the dishes from their breakfast, took a seat on the couch, picked up a book, and began to read. The blonde watched her do all of this, more than a little stunned, and suddenly found herself standing awkwardly in the middle of the apartment, not entirely sure what she should do.

She thought about escaping back into the room she and Henry shared upstairs, but that felt like running away, and for some odd reason she didn't want to do that.

Tired of standing awkwardly, Emma forced herself to walk as nonchalantly as she could and took a seat in the armchair across from the couch.

Working up her courage, she asked, "Mind if I watch some TV?"

"Sure," her mother replied and she handed the blonde the remote without looking up from her book. This irked the girl for some reason, but she quickly squashed the feeling before trying to find something to watch.

* * *

Meanwhile, Snow's heart seemed like it wanted to beat out of her chest.

She and Charming had talked after Emma and Henry had gone to bed, and both decided it was for the best if Snow just treated Emma like everything was normal.

Like she _didn't_ looked like a little six-year-old angel.

_Her _six-year-old angel.

'_Don't even think about it, Snow. She's twenty-eight. She's twenty-eight,' _the brunette chanted to herself silently.

It took every ounce of her will to just nonchalantly clean the dishes and sit down with a book like this was just one of her normal days off.

She nearly laughed at the thought: as if anything about her family was _'normal'_ anymore.

Still, Snow couldn't help but sneak a peek at her shrunken daughter, watching her try to find something decent to watch. She had a bored expression on her face and her head was in one hand while the other kept clicking on the remote, flipping from channel to channel.

'_She really is adorable,'_ the brunette thought to herself. And it was true. Between Emma's golden locks, her bright eyes and fair skin, and despite the slight scowl on her face, in Snow's eyes, she was perfect.

'_Absolutely perfect,'_ she decided before quickly lowering her eyes back to her book before Emma glanced in her direction.

* * *

Not able to catch her mother staring, though she could of sworn she had been, the blonde simply shrugged and brought her attention back to the TV.

After flipping through over a dozen channels, Emma finally hit one that was showing _Saw_. Feeling brave, and subconsciously wanting to show that she was still a grown-up and could handle stuff like this, the blonde got settled in her chair and began to watch the actors on the small screen.

Snow recognized the movie Emma had decided on and for half a second considered commenting about it, but she bit her tongue and tuned out the screams of the terrified people: a skill she, or rather, Mary Margaret had perfected over her years of teaching occasionally rowdy fourth graders.

Emma watched what was left of the movie for over an hour, taking in every shot, stab, blood drawn, and scream unleashed. She wasn't super scared, but she was more than a little uncomfortable. Still, her pride wouldn't allow her to change the channel.

As the end credits rolled, the blonde breathed a silent sigh of relief, which was quickly cut off when she realized that the next film starting was _Saw II_. Apparently the channel was having an all day _Saw_ marathon.

Emma debated on changing to a different channel, but instead set her jaw and kept her eyes on the screen, bracing herself to watch more people die horrific deaths.

Her pride would not allow her to make so much as a single peep; even when she wanted to scream and cringe at the atrocities on the TV.

'_Who the hell came up with this twisted shit?'_ she wondered as a man awoke to find himself faced with a deadly ultimatum on screen.

'_Probably Gold,'_ she thought dryly, _'Or maybe Regina.'_

Still, despite the horrors she was seeing, Emma watched all of _Saw II_.

And _III_.

And managed to get halfway through _IV_ before she fell asleep in the armchair; although whether this was from being mentally exhausted from trying not to outwardly freak out, or because her six-year-old body needed the rest was anyone's guess.

* * *

Snow sighed in relief when her daughter finally conked out in the chair. She thought she would have to sit through every single Saw movie and was very glad that she wouldn't have to. The brunette could block out only so many screams of pain before feeling like she was back in battle again.

Rising up silently from the couch, Snow quietly leaned over and gently plucked the remote from her daughter's fingers before using it to turn off the TV.

She was about to return to her spot before pausing and grabbed the blanket on the back of it, draping it over the blonde's slumbering form. She couldn't help but smile at the scene and had to force herself to retake her seat before she did something foolish, like give Emma a kiss or move a lock of hair out of her face; things she knew that her daughter wouldn't appreciate should she awaken while Snow did them.

Returning to her book, the brunette was resigned to just enjoy what she had with Emma, and not push any further.

For now.

* * *

Roughly an hour after she had fallen asleep, Snow noticed some movement on the armchair out of the corner of her eye. Thinking Emma was waking up, the brunette turned her head towards the chair and was concerned to see that her daughter's eye were screwed shut and she seemed to be breathing heavily as she tried to toss and turn on the small chair.

Worried that she might fall out and hurt herself, Snow put her book down and crouching in front of the armchair, gently grabbed Emma's shoulders and tried to shake her awake.

"Emma? Emma, wake up sweetie," she called softly, but her touch only seemed to agitate the child even further as she began to cry out in her sleep.

Her heart stopping at the pitiful sounds, Snow shook her harder and called louder; silently begging whatever nightmare had its hold on her daughter to let go of her at once.

"Emma! Wake up! It's just a dream!" The brunette struggled to keep her voice calm, but how could she when her daughter was in the throes of terror and there was nothing she could do.

"EMMA, PLEASE WAKE UP!" she eventually yelled, and the blonde's eyes shot straight open as she took in a gasp of air. Halting her tossing and turning, Emma's eyes roved around madly before settling on Snow's concerned face.

Snow sighed in relief and got halfway though saying her daughter's name again before Emma barreled into her chest and starting crying in near hysterics.

"Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom," the child sobbed again and again, clutching Snow as if she was a lifeline.

The brunette's joy at being called that name soon vanished when she remembered the situation and she quickly wrapped her arms tightly around her little, sitting down on the floor and cradling the child protectively.

"Shh, shh… it's alright… I'm here… I'm right here…" she cooed to Emma, "You're alright…I'm not going anywhere…"

"The-there was a-a room-an-and you-and Henry-and-," the girl sobbed even louder, not able to fully describe what she had dreamed, but Snow gathered enough to know that her daughter was horrified by what she'd seen and now was on the verge of a panic attack.

She began to rock her gently on the floor and rubbed little circles on her back.

"It's okay; it's over now… Shh…you're okay…we're all okay…"

Never before had Emma seem so small to Snow, and a part of her didn't think it was simply because of Belle's spell. Or maybe Henry was right and it _was_ causing the blonde to revert to a more child-like mentality. More so than usual, at least.

Nevertheless, the brunette resolutely remained on the hard floor, focusing only on cradling her daughter's tiny body and whispering soothing words into her ear.

Eventually Emma's sobs died away to nothing more than the occasional sniffle. Feeling her calm down once again, Snow sat her on her knee facing her and gently moved some of her hair out of her face, asking with a small smile, "You okay?"

The blonde sniffled and nodded but kept her eyes down; clearly embarrassed at her little break down.

Snow smiled a little wider and rubbed her daughter's arm.

"Hey, it's okay," she said, lifting up Emma's chin to meet eyes she gotten from her, "Being scared for your family is nothing you ever have to be ashamed of."

Snow smirked. "Although in retrospect, watching almost _four_ scary movies in a row to prove you're still an adult _might_ not have been the best idea you've ever had."

Emma flinched. "You saw that, huh?"

"Sweetie, you don't exactly have the best poker face when it comes to your emotions," the brunette teased, "Which is fine, seeing as you're usually straight forward with people to begin with."

The blonde had to smile at that particular truth.

"Come on, let's go get some more hot chocolate," Snow said.

Not thinking twice about it, the brunette wrapped her arms around her daughter and lifted her up like she weighed nothing.

Realizing what she had just done, Snow froze. She knew that there were things Emma disliked her doing and this was one of the big ones.

So she felt her heart melt when her child, her dear sweet little Emma, wrapped her own arms around her and nuzzled into her neck.

Beaming happily, the brunette made her way over to their small kitchen.

"Hey… Mom?" a small voice from below her ear asked.

Grinning at the title, Snow replied, "Yes, sweetheart?"

"Can I have some-,"

"Emma Swan, for the last time, I am not giving your six-year-old body _scotch_!"

* * *

**A/N: I have no idea if Emma actually prefers scotch: or even if scotch is good mixed into other things for that matter.**

**But it's FanFiction, and I call poetic license!**

**I might be persuaded to do a part two with some daddy/daughter moments-**

**If you give me lots of reviews to read.**

**I do **_**love**_** me some reviews! ^w^**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: *****author gets blown away by reviews and has to run back from Oregon*******

…**.Holy shit you guys….**

**I knew this was a decent story-**

**But I'd didn't think it'd be this popular!**

**It hasn't even been 10 hours since I posted it, and already I have 20 **_**amazing**_** reviews; over half of which are begging for a second with James, some a third with Henry, and even a couple asked if I could make the spell on Emma permanent! ^w^**

**Did you read that? **_**20!**_** I've had two other OUAT**

**Fics up for nearly two weeks now, three chapters each, and only **_**one**_** of them has breached the twenty mark. The other hasn't even reached ten.**

**Suffice to say; I'm stunned.**

**So; after reading such **_**awesome**_** comments, and giving it some thought; I've decided to throw all caution and common sense out the window and attempt, **_**attempt**_**, to make this a full blown story and not just a one-shot.**

**Which means that Emma is gonna stay bite-sized for a while longer. ^^**

**I can't guarantee that the rest of the story will be as good as the first chapter (or that the continuity won't turn to shit at some point); but there will be fluff, there will be tears, and so long as I can make you guys at least crack a smile and some feels, I'll consider it a job well done. ^^**

**As always: please R&R.**

* * *

Snow and Emma spent the rest of the afternoon snuggled together on the couch watching reruns of _I Love Lucy. _Despite the fact that the blonde had regained her cool hours ago, she loathed the notion of leaving her mother's lap any time soon.

The brunette was reclined against the arm of the couch with Emma seated in her lap, facing the television, and the girl couldn't bring to mind of a more comfortable position. Encased gently in her mother's arm, she felt warm. Safe.

Loved.

Sadly, those feelings faded away somewhat as she heard the telltale signs of the boys stomping up the stairs, talking and laughing loudly.

Emma tensed up as she heard them, her walls wanting to shoot back up and be nonchalant once again. She didn't want the boys to see her so vulnerable-

But she couldn't bring herself to get off her mother's lap. She didn't want to: and yet part of her screamed to move.

The decision was made for her, however, when Snow moved her hands under her armpits and gently placed her daughter at the opposite end of the couch before returning to her previous position.

Emma looked at the brunette, a little hurt at the gesture and already missing her mother's warmth, until she saw the smile on Snow's face and the wink she sent her way before returning to watching _I Love Lucy _as if nothing had happened just as they heard the boys reach the landing. Grateful to her, Emma did the same.

* * *

Snow had heard the boys coming a second after she felt Emma tense up. Knowing her daughter didn't really want to be seen like this, _yet_, the brunette made the quick decision to move the blonde out of her grasp, though her heart ached to do so. Emma had looked confused, and slightly hurt Snow thought, for all of half a second before smiling gratefully at her; unknowingly causing her mother's heart to soar.

'_One day,'_ she thought as the boys tumbled into the apartment, _'One day she won't be embarrassed about it.'_

'_And it will be the happiest day of my life.'_

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Snow turned her attention to the male half of her family.

"Hey, you two. How were your days?" she asked.

"Good," James replied, "I'm sad to report that the station was really quiet today."

"Cause you broke the radio again?" Emma questioned from her spot on the couch.

"Cause you weren't there to grouse me about doing paperwork," he retorted with a twinkle in his eye.

Not skipping a beat and raising an eyebrow, the girl countered, "And did you?"

"…Pft-_yeah_! Course I did," Charming stated, suddenly finding a loose thread on his cuff to be _very_ interesting.

Emma wasn't convinced.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, _really_," he replied, looking at her smugly, his arms akimbo.

"Which ones?"

His face dropped.

"Which what?" Snow and Henry had to bite their cheeks to keep their laughter from interrupting the banter. They knew where this was going.

"What paperwork did you do today?" Emma asked calmly. "Was it an incident report? Budget report? Did you finish that murder file like I asked you to?"

James snapped his fingers.

"Yes! The murder file! I worked on that! Mhm. All day," he said proudly.

"All day, huh?" the girl arched an eyebrow.

"Yup."

"It was a toughie?"

"The toughest!" he agreed.

"I see," Emma smiled and picked at her nails. She was gonna enjoy this.

"So…who was it?"

James face dropped once again. "Who was what?"

The girl sat forward on the couch and rested her chin in her hand.

"Well, in order for there to be a _murder_ case, it means someone would've had to die a suspicious death. So I'm asking you; who died?" she asked with an expression that said _'I'm-asking-a-totally-innocent-question-here'_.

Prince Charming floundered for many moments, seemingly spitting out every vowel and a few consonants, before finally his shoulders slumped and he said, "There is no murder file, is there?"

"James, there isn't even a _illegal parking_ case, let alone a murder case!"

"I'm busted?" he asked bashfully.

"Like a piñata," she replied smirking.

"…I'll do them tomorrow," he answered in mock dejection.

"Damn straight, you will."

"Emma!" Snow snapped, "Language!"

Emma cringed, "…Sorry, Snow."

If the blonde noticed the flicker of sadness that appeared on her mother's face at the loss of being called "Mom" she didn't show it.

* * *

As the boys talked about their day, Snow scurried around the kitchen getting dinner ready. At one point during the food preparations, Henry made fun of Emma's new (old) height, and she punched him in the shoulder. Henry said she couldn't do that, she was a grown-up; Emma replied that she could since she was six.

The boy made a face. The girl made one back.

This led to the two of them mock punching eachother.

Then wrestling on the floor.

Before they both grabbed a wooden sword from near the door and began dueling right in the middle of the room.

They managed not to make to much noise, so Snow was oblivious to the battle, while James simply leaned against the counter and took in the, somewhat strange, sight of his daughter and grandson playing with eachother.

He could easily pretend that they were both his children. That this was a daily occurrence, and that this was how his life had always been: full of play fights and warm feelings.

In the end, he couldn't take it anymore, grabbed a wooden broom from the closet and jumped right into the action, wielding the broom like a sword.

In a booming voice he called, "Who dares to enter the realm of the Great, Terrible and Charmingly Handsome, Lord of Evil?" mock-glaring at both of them in turn.

Emma and Henry looked at eachother for half a second, before grinning and returned James' "evil" look with just as much intensity.

"We, the Knights of the Enchanted Forest, do!" Henry crowed; waving his sword at his gramps in a way he hoped looked threatening.

"And personally, I think that last one is debatable," Emma quipped, not hesitating to play along.

James smiles at her agreement to join in the fun, before looking mad and saying, "You d_are _to insult the Lord of Evil with your silver tongue?" he stabbed his finger in her direction, "For this; You. Shall. _Perish!_"

With the last word as a battle cry, James launched himself at the two "knights", swinging his broom-er, sword, at them, and blocking their attacks playfully. The trio wound up moving all around the apartment, screaming and laughing; at one point there was even a fight scene on the stairs.

None of them noticed that Snow had ceased in her cooking to take in the scene before her with the gleam of unshed tears in her eyes. Like James, she found herself easily seeing that this was the life they could have had.

That they _should_ have had.

Maybe not in this world, but that hardly mattered so long as they had been _together_.

'_Knock it off, Snow!'_ she scolded herself as she wiped the tears from her eyes, _'You can't change the past, so don't even think about it. You have them here and now, and that's all that really matters.'_

Sniffling softly, she turned her attentions back to the battle happening within her, _their_, home.

Smirking resolutely she thought, _'Time to make the most of it.'_

* * *

Things hadn't been going well for Henry and Emma.

Though they outnumbered him two-to-one, and he was holding back significantly, James still had them outmatched in terms of size, speed, strength, _and_ experience.

So really, it wasn't too much of a surprise when, after the children had both unwittingly attacked at the same time, James expertly twirled his fake sword around their own and flicked them both out of their grasps and across the floor. Within a moment he had them both cornered, literally, and took a moment to gloat at his victory, as all "villains" are wont to do.

"Ha ha!" he said dramatically as he pointed his broom sword at the two of them.

"Now do you the folly of your ways? No one can best, the Lord of _Evil_! Muwahahaha!"

His villainous laugh was cut short, however, when a wooden shaft smacked him on top of the shoulder and a voice called out from behind him.

"Oh really? No one?"

James turned, with Henry and Emma peeking around him, to see that Snow had retrieved her wooden mop from the closet and was now striking a heroic pose in the middle of the room. She looked so much like the first time he had met her, back in the forest, James had to take a second before shaking his head and mock scowling at her.

"That's right; _no one_!"

"I disagree. I believe I can," the brunette retorted.

"And who are you?" he demanded.

Sweeping her arms out in an elaborate, yet mocking, bow, Snow quipped, "I am the Queen of this land, and they-," she gestured to the kids, "-Are my subjects. I demand you release them immediately or else face my wrath."

James had to laugh, for real, at that, but he quickly pulled it into his act.

"'Face your wrath?'" he mocked, stepping towards her, flicking her 'blade' aside.

"You would do better to leave now, _girly_, before I lose my patience. I'd _so_ hate to wreck the face of such a fair maiden," he winked at her, smirking as her eyes narrowed.

"_Girly_?" she said before lashing her sword at him, barely giving him enough at all to block it and the several that followed.

"Who are you? To call. Me. Girly?!" she cried, each word punctuated by her blows.

As they began the duel, Henry and Emma moved to the sides and cheered their "Queen" on.

"Get him, your Highness!" Henry said.

"Take his knees out!" Emma called, really getting into the fun.

The fighters moved around the apartment gracefully, neither truly gaining nor losing any ground, bantering with eachother all the while.

Eventually, the Queen and Lord of Evil found their swords crossed and in their faces only inches apart.

"Give it up, your Majesty!" James growled out, "You can't beat me; never have, never will!"

"That scar on your chin begs to differ," Snow smirked impishly, a mischievous glint in her eye.

James recognized that glint, had learned to fear it actually, and realized that he was in trouble.

But before he could react and back away, Snow grabbed his lapel and kissed him. He had just started to melt into the kiss-

When suddenly his feet were kicked out from under him and he found himself on the floor, flat on his back, with Henry and Emma laughing in the background. James blinked up at Snow and realized that she was holding both her mop and his broom, crossing them over his throat. How she had managed to get his sword as he fell was beyond him.

Pouting at her he said, "No fair, that's cheating."

"Oh hush, _O' Great, Terrible, and Charmingly Handsome, Lord of Evil_," she giggled, the sound like musical bells to his ears, "You of all people should know that 'all's fair in love and war'!"

"Oh really," he snickered.

Snow's gloating smile fell for a second before James latched onto both "swords" and yanked her down on top of him before rolling them both over and pinning her arms above her head.

"Hey!" Snow yelled.

"'All's fair in love and war', 'member?" he joked, knowing she was annoyed.

"Yes, but doesn't mean you can just grab swords with your bare hands!" she argued.

"I'm evil and I do as I please!" he stated dramatically in a Rumplestiltskin-like manner, still not letting her up, and giving her a look that sent shivers down her spine.

"And I think I'll start with you," he growled, for real this time, before beginning to plant little kissed all over her neck.

Snow giggled and squirmed beneath him before calling out, "Kn-Knights! Help your Queen!"

James didn't even have time to look up before two small forms launched themselves into his side, knocking him clean off of his wife.

"Leave our Queen alone, Lord of Evil!" they both shouted as they attempted to wrestle him to the ground. What had started off as a duel between two children, well, one child and one adult in a child's body, had grown into a duel between two children in adult bodies, before finally evolving into a wrestling free-for-all as Snow soon joined them, and they all rolled every which way across the floor.

* * *

They kept at it for nearly ten minutes and only stopped when they became exhausted and the timer for their dinner went off. Still laughing, they picked themselves up off the floor, Henry and Emma racing to get to the bathroom first and Snow and James getting everything from the kitchen.

By the time the kids had finished washing up and returned, dinner was out and the table was set. They all sat down in a comfortable silence and began to eat with gusto: the play fighting having really worked up an appetite in each of them.

After they had assured their bodies that they weren't going to die of starvation, they began chatting with eachother. They didn't talk about anything important; just the weather, their days again, how the meal was. Just simple, boring, mundane, everyday, things.

All in all, it was the average family dinner.

And not _one_ of them would change a single thing about it.

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so **_**somehow**_** this changed from being just an Emma/James chapter to just being one full of good old-fashioned family fluff.**

**Next one will have a private moment between father and daughter, I swear.**

**Hope it met your expectations anyway.**

**Please R&R and tell me what you think.**

**Reviews make me smile and giggle. ^^**

**Oh, and a shout out to **Rapunzel Sunny** for giving me the idea to have Henry tease Emma.**

**Which kinda wound up setting up this whole chapter. ^^**

**Also to **nahbois68**: This isn't **_**exactly**_** what you had in mind, but I hope you liked it anyway. I'll try and see if I can work your idea in, but I won't make any promises. ^^**

**Yours truly,**

**White Belt Writer**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: *****author looks down to work on school work*******

***looks up to find that a month has passed since she last updated*******

**My bad, guys. College.**

**To make up for it, I'll post this against my better judgment (I dislike how I ended it but can't find a way to fix it).**

**I also apologize ahead of time if anyone seems a little OOC.**

**If it's Emma, I'm going to argue that the spell coupled with mental exhaustion could make her slightly juvenile at times.**

**If it's David… actually David being OOC is just me being a bad writer. ^^"**

**Please R&R.**

* * *

David's eyes shot wide open as he gasped for breath. Blinking rapidly, he glanced all around him without moving his head, trying to see where he was.

He sighed in relief when he realized that he was still in Snow's-_their _bedroom, in the apartment. Turning his head slightly, his eyes landed on his love, curled up facing him, with a look of content on her face.

Moving at an achingly slow pace, David managed to maneuver himself out of bed and, after making sure he hadn't awakened his wife, quietly padded his way into the kitchen, closing the curtain that served as their door behind him.

Getting a glass of water and sitting down at the island, the blonde man took sips of it as he held his head in his hand and tried to calm his racing heart. He'd dreamt of it again.

The red room.

He doesn't know why; be it his strength of will; willingly breaking into the room while under the curse; or maybe simply because Snow was sleeping beside him, but Charming was somehow able to awake from the dream without screaming like Snow used to.

Like Henry still does, occasionally.

David sighed as he took another drink. He knows he should wake Snow up, _wants_ to wake her so she could comfort him; but he knows she will feel guilty about having this happen to him, for whatever reason, and he doesn't want to do that.

So instead he sneaks out here, has a drink, maybe check on Emma and Henry if he felt the need, and then sneaks right back into his wife's loving, embrace.

Finishing his drink, David placed his glass in the sink, ready to go back to bed, but froze when he heard the toilet flush and the sink turn on in the bathroom.

Not daring to move, he hopes whomever it is just goes straight back to bed so that he doesn't get caught alone in the kitchen. Irrational as he knew it was, he was embarrassed by his new nightly routine and didn't want anyone to know, especially Snow.

Turning his head slowly like a hunter not wanting to spook its prey, the man was a little shock to see Emma emerge from the bathroom and head straight for the couch instead of the staircase.

David wanted to smack himself for forgetting their household's newest arrangement.

On the day Emma was shrunk, the blonde haired girl had made a big deal of saying that since they no idea when she would return to her proper size, that it would be a bad idea for her to sleep in the same bed as Henry, as they had done before, since if she suddenly changed she could possibly hurt him by knocking him out of the bed or something.

Henry had claimed that he would be fine, but Emma, as stubborn as both her parents, insisted she wouldn't take the risk and would be just fine on the couch. Her son then argued that he should take the couch and the two, after much vivid debate, decided that they would take turns on the bed and the couch. Henry, being the knight in training he so desperately wanted to be, had taken the couch the first night, and tonight was Emma's turn.

Hence the reason why she was quietly padding in front of him towards the living room, seemingly oblivious to his presence next to the kitchen sink.

David nearly breathed a sigh of relief, and resolved that he would stay still until his daughter was securely "in bed" and asleep before attempting to make his way back to his own bed.

While he waited for her to get settled, the man decided to take in his daughter appearance while she didn't know he was there.

He couldn't help but smile at how cute she looked.

Since the only clothes she had that fit were the ones that she had shrunk in, Emma had been forced these past two nights to wear one of the smallest t-shirts they had in the apartment as a makeshift nightgown, leaving her legs bare. The shirt itself was a light blue affair with a somewhat realistic picture of a _raging_ Care Bear on it; complete with a snarl and giant claws on each paw.

David had no idea what possessed the usually serious woman to buy such a novelty t-shirt, but he thought it suited her nonetheless.

Emma was about to reach the couch when she sniffled and David was brought out of his musings and into reality.

And the reality was that his little girl had been crying.

Throwing all caution and sense to the wind, the man strode out from behind the counter and towards the living room, stopping just before he got to the girl.

"Emma?" he whispered softly, "Are you alright?"

David saw the girl's shoulders tense as he called to her and realized that doing this _may_ have been a mistake.

As much as he wished it were otherwise, he did not have the same relationship his wife had with their daughter, what had happened before dinner notwithstanding, and so doing what he was doing now… was kind of a "no-no".

As if to prove him right, Emma turned around halfway and said without really looking at him, "Wha-yeah. I'm-I'm fine. Just uh…just had something in my eye is all and had to get it out."

'_She didn't ask what I was doing up'_, he thought. _'I should just accept her answer and walk away. She obviously doesn't want to talk about it.'_

'_Not with me at least,' _he added rather dejectedly.

Still, as Emma continued her walk to the couch, and tried and failed to hide another sniffle from him, David felt his resolve harden and all self-preserving thoughts, atleast where his ego was concerned, flew right out the window as he followed her, making sure to keep a few feet between them.

"Something in your eye, huh?" he asked softly, "Is that why you were in the bathroom? You were trying to get it out?"

The girl made a big show of smoothing the bedding on the couch as she answered, "Yup, that's why."

"Hm. So you used the mirror, right?"

"Uh-huh," she said, starting to sound a little annoyed.

"Interesting," David said, as he crossed his arms, "I didn't know you could levitate."

At that, Emma turned around to face him, discreetly, at least to her, wiping a tear from her face as she did so.

"Levitate? What are you talking about?"

Trying not to show how much his heart ached to see any tear come from her eyes, David kept up his act and replied nonchalantly, "Well, since you managed to lose, _oh_, about _two feet_ in height, and thus couldn't possibly see the mirror in the bathroom without taking a chair in there with you, I simply assumed you levitated your way to the mirror."

Emma was stuck and she knew it.

If she claimed that she did take a chair into the bathroom, David would ask where it was since she didn't come out with it and he could easily see for himself if it was still in the bathroom. And she couldn't claim to have stood on anything in the bathroom itself because the tub and toilet were a ways away from the mirror and the sink itself was a small rickety thing Emma was sure was going to break just by having her lean on it; let alone climb on top of it.

She was trapped.

As he watched her shoulders slump in defeat and her eyes find the floor, David relented his act and kneeled down so that he was level with her head and said softly, "You didn't have anything in your eye, did you."

After a moment, Emma shook her head, refusing to look up.

"Did you have a bad dream?"

The girl didn't respond, but by the way she tensed slightly he guessed he was right.

He nearly asked, _'Do you want to talk about it?' _but refrained and instead said, "Do you want me to get Snow?"

He was already rising to his feet to get her when Emma's head shot up.

"No!" she said, wincing at how loud she was before adding quietly, "No. She's sleeping and I-I don't want to wake her up. It's stupid anyway."

David kneeled in front of her again.

"Emma," he said gently, "Whatever it is, I'm sure Snow would be happy to talk about it with you, no matter how stupid it is."

She looked up slightly, blinking rapidly to keep her tears from falling as she argued, "But she's sleeping-"

"And would gladly get no sleep at all to make sure you're okay," David stated honestly.

More than a little nervous about saying so, he added, "And frankly…so would I."

She met his gaze for the first time at that; her eyes, which were so much like her mothers, searching his for even a hint of deception.

"Really?" she asked, seemingly perplexed at the notion of anyone doing that for her.

Smiling softly to hide how much that question, and all that it entailed, broke his heart, he gestured to around them and stated, "I'm here now, aren't I?"

Emma gave a small shy smile in return at his antics before her brow scrunched together in mild confusion.

"Wait, what are you doing up?" she asked curiously.

David froze; he'd forgotten about that. And now he'd been caught red-handed.

"Uh-um-well-you see-uh…." he struggled to come up with a plausible reason, but failed and decided to come clean.

Scratching his head bashfully, he confessed, "I-uh…I had a bad dream and came out here for a glass of water."

Emma raised her head again. "The red room?"

David nodded slowly, "Yeah. The red room."

She plopped herself onto the couch dejectedly.

"The place everyone in my family has been to except me," she said sadly.

"That's not a bad thing, trust me," he was quick to assure her.

She looked at the floor again, and answered, "It is when your son gets cursed instead of you because you wouldn't believe him otherwise."

Flinching at the statement, David rose and tentatively took a seat on the couch with her, making sure to leave some space between them.

"Emma, look at me," he said softly. When she didn't move, he gently took her chin and forced her to look at him, though she still refused to meet his eyes.

"Emma," he said, with a little more edge to his voice, "Whatever events led up to Henry taking a bite of that turnover, or even what happened afterwards, doesn't matter. Do you know why?"

Finally meeting his eyes, the little girl shook her head, a lone tear escaping her eye that David wiped away lightly with his thumb before leaning down so his head was level with hers and continuing.

"It doesn't matter, because it's over. Henry is safe. He is alive and well and right at the top of those stairs," he pointed his free hand towards them, "Asleep. Content with the knowledge that _you_ are here, and that you love him and will keep him safe. Do you understand me?"

Emma sniffled and more tears ran down her face unbidden.

"But what if I can't-"

He cut her off. "You _can_ and you _will_ protect him. Know why?" she shook her head know but kept her eyes on him, "Because you are a Charming; and Charming's always protect the ones they love."

That did it. The floodgates that had up till now kept Emma's tears at bay, opened wide and let all of her tears flow out.

With a near silent sob, the girl shot forward and wrapped her arms around her father, not caring that she was burying her face into his bare chest since he slept with only a pair of pants on.

David's arms wrapped around Emma out of reflex before tightening his grip and nearly dragging his little girl into his lap, hugging her as if to protect her from every single doubt she had about herself.

Unknowingly repeating what Snow had said and down early, the man whispered soothing things into his daughter's ear, telling her that everything would be alright, as he rocked her gently in his strong arms, using a free hand to rub circles on her back.

After several minutes, Emma's tears and sobs died down into the occasional sniffle. David's heart stopped at one point when she began to move in his lap, but it started up again when he realized that she was just getting into a better position, not trying to get out of his grasp.

The blonde girl moved so that she was seated sideways on his lap and her head was nestled right underneath his chin.

'_I won't be able to hold her like this much longer,'_ Charming thought before smiling wryly, _'Between the spell wearing off and her aging normally, it'll be harder for me to hold my little girl.'_

That thought caused him to stop rocking Emma for a second out of shock before he resumed and a huge smile appeared on his face.

'_My little girl… I'm holding my little girl…'_ he reflected happily.

He was brought out of his musings when the girl in question beneath his chin chuckled dryly and mumbled, "This is the second time I've cried today."

"Second?" he questioned, suddenly concerned. Pulling back to try and meet her eye he asked, "What caused the first time?"

Emma traced one of the Care Bear's paws on her t-shirt as she said bashfully, "Saw."

"Saw? You were scared of a saw?" David chuckled wryly, "What? Did Gold come over and threaten to slice you up?"

She smacked his chest playfully.

"Not the tool, David, the movie. And it's sequel…and the third one…and the fourth…"

"Wait, you mean that series about torturing people and ripping them apart in horrific ways?" the man asked, his eyebrows flying to the ceiling.

"That's the one," Emma stated.

"Why in the world would you-ohhhh," he nodded in understanding before saying, "You were trying to show Snow that you were still an adult, weren't you."

"How'd you know?" she asked, looking up.

Chuckling bashfully, David answered, "Well… I'm afraid you may have gotten that particular trait from me."

Emma looked confused, and David couldn't help but laugh at the face she made.

"You're going to make me explain that, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yup," she replied, getting comfy on his chest.

David sighed in defeat.

"Alright, here goes," he cleared his throat, "When I was young, a little younger then Henry is now, I used to hang out with the other village boys when my parents and I went into town on market day. There was a whole group of them, and I was the youngest by far."

"One market day, a traveler passed through town on his way to a large fair and stopped to show off his prize winning bull. Emma, this thing was huge! Its shoulder was easily twenty-four hands tall," at her confused look; he amended, "About eight feet. And his horns? At the time I could've stretched my arms apart as far as they would go, and I still couldn't touch both sides at once."

"So, it was a big bull?" the girl interrupted, thinking to herself that this sounded somewhat like the Enchanted Forest version of a big fish tale, but saying nothing aloud.

"A very big bull. And very, very mean. I've met ogres that had better dispositions. But the worst thing about him, were his eyes. His coat was jet black, but his eyes? They were even darker than that, and yet they seemed to glow red with something akin to perpetual rage."

David had to shake himself a little to rid himself of the haunting image.

"Anyway, the traveler put his bull into a pen while he went off to have a drink with a few of the other villagers. While he was gone, the boys and I gathered around the pen and got a good look at this monster, who had settled enough to fall asleep."

"One of the boys had a long bit of red cloth that he'd stolen from somewhere and they began daring eachother to go into the pen and tie it around one of the bull's horns. They argued back and forth; quick to tease eachother, but not brave enough to go in themselves."

"Eventually, and this is the part I was telling you about, I got the idea into my head that if I tied the cloth to the bull, the boys would respect me and I'd be treated like a man."

"So, I dashed forward, grabbed the makeshift ribbon and crawled into the pen before the others even realized what I was doing. When they figured out what was happening they began to quietly call out to me; some were telling me to come back; others were saying I was too much of a coward; and others still were goading me on."

"I didn't really hear any of them as I got close to the beast; it was even bigger up close. I slowly made my way up to it, careful not to step or kick anything that might give me away. When I finally reached him, I was about to tie the cloth around one of his horns when I saw it."

"Set through his nose was a giant, metal, nose ring; easily as thick as my thumb today," James held up his thumb as evidence and Emma's eye widen at the thought of a ring being that thick. "That's when I got a 'better' idea; if the boys would respect me for tying the ribbon to his horn, they'd hail me as a hero if I tied it directly to its nose ring. So-"

"You didn't!"

"I did! I pulled the clothed through it and tied it with a hard knot. When I stepped aside to show the others what I'd done, their jaws had dropped to the ground before they began applauding me," James smiled at the memory, "I took my bow, literally, and took a step to begin making my way back to them."

"What I didn't know, was that the cloth had fallen around my ankle-" the girl groaned, "Uh-huh, and when I moved forward, my foot yanked the ribbon and jerked the nose ring of the giant bull. Did I mention he had a bad temper?"

"Uh-huh… he woke up?"

"With a vengeance. Before I could even blink, his eyes shot wide opened, took one look at me, and Emma, he let out a roar that I swear, to this day, scared me more than any ogre, wraith, or dragon I have ever faced. It sounded like the gates of hell themselves were opening on rusty hinges; like the sound of a thousand tormented souls-"

"Did you piss yourself?" Emma asked out of the blue.

"…I'm not ashamed to say that I did, but only a little! After he roared I didn't have time to pee; I was too busy running. I ran down that pen as fast as I could, but he was right on top of me. I was lucky; if the pen had been any bigger, that damn beast would have been able to pick up his momentum and I'd probably be dead right now."

"What's worse than that though-"

"What could be worse than that?"

"It's a figure of speech now quit interrupting me or else I won't finish the story," David mock scolded.

"Sorry."

"Where was I-oh! The _worst_ part was," he glared at Emma, daring her to interrupt, "Was that the pen was so small that I couldn't try to get out without the bull nearly impaling me. So we just kept running around the pen in circles. Just running and running and running and running. Until finally, I knew I had to do something, or else I was gonna die."

"What'd you do?" the man was about to scold her again; but she looked so cute with her wide eyes that he couldn't bring himself to.

"After I turned one of the corners of the pen, I slid to a stop and waited for the bull to come to me," Emma's eyes grew wider. "When he got close enough, I darted forward, grabbed the ribbon with both hands, and yanked on it as hard as I could. The scream the bull had unleashed before was nothing like the one he bellowed then. I thought my ears were gonna pop, and I was sure the entire village had heard him, but I was too busy holding on to care."

"Still roaring in pain, the bull began to thrash his head back and forth, whipping me around like a cloth doll, until finally my grip gave out and I was sent flying until my back collided with one of the pen posts."

"I was a little dazed but clearheaded enough to see the bull shake it's head and set me in its sights once again. As he began to charge, I quickly crawled between the posts just seconds before he slammed into them, nearly uprooting them in his attempt to get to me."

"What happened next?" Emma asked eagerly.

"Well, the boys got to congratulate me for all of five seconds before my father arrived and laid into me so hard with his belt that I couldn't sit down for week straight," David admitted bashfully.

Emma grew quiet at that for some reason, tensing up as soon as he had said the word "belt", but David wisely chose not to ask her about right then.

Instead he said, "So, the point is, I get where you're coming from with the whole proving yourself thing."

"So, now that we have that established, I have to ask-," he grabbed her chin lightly and made her look at him, "-Do you want to talk about your bad dream?

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**A/N: For the record; sooooo called Charming's real name being David! ^^**

**Sorry it stopped right there but... I managed to write myself into a corner.**

**Again, I apologize for any and all OCC-ness.**

**Shout out to my awesome beta: tonguemarksonmymirror**

**Which, hopefully I spelled right. ^^"**

**Also; Emma's t-shirt actually exists! And I want it!**

**Please R&R. **


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